Box Score (PDF)

In Short…
Host Drake turned in a dominant third-quarter performance en route to defeating Loyola University Chicago, 72-46, this afternoon at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa.  With the win, the Bulldogs move to 7-7 (2-0 MVC), while the Ramblers now sit at 2-11 (0-2 MVC). 
 
How It Happened
Tiara Wallace knocked down Loyola's first shot of the day just over three minutes in when she converted on a contested layup to cut Drake's lead to 4-2.  After the Bulldogs had stretched their lead to 11-4, makes from Ellie Rice, Jessica Cerda and Brandi Segars, respectively, pulled Loyola to within one, 11-10, before Sammie Bachrodt connected on a three to give Drake a 14-10 edge after the opening 10 minutes.
 
Abby O'Connor registered her first points 90 seconds into the second quarter, finishing inside to trim Drake's lead to 16-12.  A Maddie Monahan layup at the 3:45 mark would again push the margin to seven, 23-16.  Loyola answered back with a 7-0 run that was capped off by a Kailyn Strawbridge triple to pull even at 23-23.  Drake went on to counter with a run of its own, scoring the half's final six points to head into halftime in front, 29-23.
 
Cerda buried her first three of the game in the early stages of the third quarter to trim the deficit to five, 31-26.  Drake seized control from that point forward, rattling off 10 unanswered points as part of a 22-4 spurt that saw it establish a 53-30 lead moving into the fourth quarter.
 
Alexis Meyer responded to Maddy Dean's post score with an inside bucket of her own at the 8:01 mark to cut the Drake edge to 55-32.  Strawbridge continued her strong work from beyond the three-point arc in the game's closing minute, knocking down a pair of tries, as Drake picked up its 24^th consecutive win in Valley play.
 
Inside The Box Score
- Strawbridge finished with a team-high nine points, while Rice came off the bench to collect six rebounds, the top mark in the category for a Rambler, to go along with six points.
- Wallace came away with a team-best three steals on the defensive end of the floor.
- Drake, which was led on the afternoon by Becca Hittner's 12 points, finished the game at just under 54% (29-of-54) from the field and operated at a blistering 60% (18-of-30) clip in the second half after being held to only 29 points, its second-lowest total for a half on the year, in the opening 20 minutes of play.
 
Up Next:
Loyola returns to Gentile Arena next weekend to host Bradley (January 5) and Illinois State (January 7).  Both contests are part of the inaugural year of the "Battle For Illinois" rivalry series.